A Father's Love
by JesusLover13
Summary: Zuko had never had much of a father, but he'd always had his uncle, through everything.


__**Hi, everyone. :) I think this is the first _real _fanfic for ATLA I've ever written. Yes, I made an attempt at Zutara one shots, but only came up with one random one. xD Hopefully I'll work on that again soon.**

Anyway, I watched a few episodes of the show recently and I really felt inspired to write this fanfiction. There are a lot of fics about couples nowadays and, although there's nothing wrong with that, I felt like there should be a fic about family as well. That's one of the reasons I wrote this.

Another reason is... I know not all of you are Christians, and I totally respect that - still, though, this story was written for the Person I love, the One who is my Father: Jesus Christ. A lot of of the whole Zuko and Iroh story really reminds me of God and that's what helped me write this. I'm thankful for all He's done in my life. 3 :)

Like I said, though, I respect that not all of you are Christians and you don't have to think of God while you read this. You can just read it as it's written. I just wanted you to know that this story really means a lot to me personally.

I hope all of you enjoy it! ^_^

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_A Father's Love_

The sun glowed a dark orange as it set in the pink, yellow, and purple sky.

It seemed as though all was one - the birds were soaring across the evening sky as the wind began to blow.

There was almost nothing as beautiful as the sunset. It was one of the most mesmerizing things Zuko had ever seen.

It was another day of him being fire lord and yet all he could think about was watching the sunset for a while.

Over the last week, he had attended countless meetings with important people as he tried to help restore peace in the nations.

But he'd finally managed to catch a day off. There wasn't much else to do - Mai had gone to help the Kyoshi Warriors with something and the Gaang had gone to the Earth Kingdom to help out in the Fire Nation Coolonies there.

Zuko didn't feel alone because there was no one around. He just felt as though something was missing.

He remembered his days chasing the Avatar and how his father had once banished him. He was alone back then...

Well, when he _really _thought about it, maybe he wasn't so alone...

Iroh - kind, gentle Iroh - had been there with him the whole time. The man had stood by him in the good times and the bad. No matter how many times the teen messed up, Iroh was always there and always forgave him.

Zuko was even still amazed at the fact that Iroh never forced him to do any certain thing. He'd let Zuko make his own decisions and learn from his own mistakes.

And everything turned out all right. Even when Zuko betrayed his uncle, Iroh still forgave him.

Zuko continued to stare at the entrancing sunset. He really missed his uncle. That's why he picked this day to journey to Ba Sing Se.

His uncle was there, running his quaint, little tea shop, as usual.

The firebender turned away from the colorful sunset as a handful of people exited the shop. He made his way off the roof and into the building.

He needed to see his uncle. He needed to tell him something.

Iroh was just carrying a cup of tea over to a pretty lady when Zuko walked in.

The old man stopped in his tracks when he spotted his nephew. "Zuko!" he exclaimed as a large smile spread across his face. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you," Zuko replied. He glanced around the busy tea shop. "Care for some help?"

Iroh's face lit up like a firebender during an intense battle. He chuckled. "The fire lord wants to help out at a small, little tea shop in Ba Sing Se?"

Zuko smiled and bowed. "It would be an honor."

Iroh grinned before handing the woman her cup of tea. "A nice drink for a nice lady." He winked and she giggled.

Zuko's smile got a bit wider. He had really missed his uncle.

The two relatives headed back around the counter and into a back room to talk while the customers seemed content.

The moment they were alone, iroh pulled his nephew into a big bear hug.

Zuko was a bit surprised, but nevertheless returned the hug.

"So," Iroh began, once they'd pulled out of the hug, "what's it like being the new fire lord?"

Zuko chuckled. "It's definitely not boring."

"You are a great fire lord, Nephew."

Zuko smiled, but it quickly faded. His expression grew serious. He really had something he wanted to tell his uncle and it couldn't wait any longer. "Well, I was thinking... I wouldn't be who I am today without you, Uncle. Even when I was chasing the Avatar to regain my honor, you were on my side. You've always been on my side." He paused, thinking carefully about his next words.

Iroh listened intently to what Zuko was saying. He knew he had customers waiting, but his nephew was more important to him.

He watched as the scarred teen stared at the floor, thinking. "I never had much of a father," Zuko continued. "He never cared about me. All he cared about was his power and his glory."

He hadbeen glaring at the floor, but now he ooked into Iroh's eyes with a soft expression. "You've been more of a father to me than he ever was. And for that I thank you."

Iroh could feel great happiness welling up inside of him, but Zuko wasn't finished yet.

"You're the one who's stood by me the entire time - the only one who could see past the scars and the anger I felt. You've always been there for me." Zuko had never sounded so sincere, never said he felt that way about Iroh. He hadn't once mentioned that his uncle was more of a father to him.

"Thank you, Uncle." He bowed with respect and honor for Iroh.

Tears, by now, had found themselves in Iroh's eyes and they were threatening to fall. He'd never known that Zuko loved him so much.

Now, for the second time that evening, he pulled his nephew into a hug. "Zuko," he said, "you are like a son to me."

Zuko smiled, feeling more at peace than he had in a very long time.

"I love you, Zuko."

"I love you too, Uncle."

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**Thank you for reading! Review if you liked it, please! ^_^**


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